VividSimon Simply Perfect

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Kirpianuscus ...was the basic fascinating aspect of film, for me. the plot is the second. and, as teacher, the feel to see a too familiar story about vulnerability, need of the other and dreams. I am only insignificant viewer of Japanese animation and its importance is result of the meeting with it after the fall of Romanian Comunist regime. so, I am not in measure to define schools, directors art or techniques. but this film is real admirable. for the manner to define characters. for the small pieces of story. for the feeling as air. and for a form of profound , delicate honesty.

Irishchatter I have to say, this anime really shows a great detail of the environment around the characters. It does make you think that everything is real in cartoon version and it gives you a very nice feeling of a little bit of happiness. I dunno what you thought of it but thats how I have seen it when watching this short.The storyline was extraordinary with both the young guy and the woman's perceptive of how they felt about each other. I think at the end there, they really should've ended up together regardless of age and the fact, she was moving away. It seemed to me that she had a bit of trouble with the students at the school, where she used to be working in. It actually did make me upset for the pair of them, it does make you wonder in your mind of what they are doing with their lives after their encounterment. Maybe, she found someone else and so did he, who knows? There didn't seem to be any conclusion to the story because all it left off was him concentrating with his schoolwork and her sitting on her baggage like feeling sorry for herself. I think it would've made more sense if we seen what happened afterwards but unfortunately it didn't show it to us. Really good anime film but bring a box of tissues towards the end, thats all i can say lol!!!

Magsi Rover (magsirover) Spent the last three years of my life watching Hayao's Works/Studio Ghibli films, and so when I heard about Shinkai's rumors to be the next Miyazaki of his time. I immediately took the initiative to watch almost all of his works, as much as possible. Both on and off the big screen, I definitely have all the praise for the film. There are scenes that despite the subtle appearance of each characters, it was perfectly conveyed to the viewers eyes making the story simple for viewers to relate to the passion and conflict of the characters. Beautifully done, and a must see for all art and enthusiast.and if you paid enough attention to the details, Shinkai definitely has a trade mark in both story and art.

Robert Thompson (justbob1982) Version I saw: UK Bluray releaseActors: 6/10Plot/script: 5/10Photography/visual style: 9/10Music/score: 6/10Overall: 7/10Makoto Shinkai is a master of visually stunning, quite short films that are heavy on 'feels'. He began with the astonishing achievement of single-handedly creating and animating hard sci-fi weepie 'Voices of a Distant Star' using only his own Apple Mac, and it is still a delight to watch today. Since then, he seems to have progressed fairly steadily towards more mundane settings, but his production standards have only risen.'The Garden of Words' is a romantic drama set in modern Tokyo, featuring a schoolboy named Takao and an adult woman named Yukino who meet by coincidence in a park, when they should both have been otherwise occupied. Incidentally, they are voiced by very prominent seiyuu Miyu Irino and Kana Hanazawa, making this a fairly prestigious project.As the story develops, we find out why each is bunking off, and a romantic element develops. This is somewhat awkward, given the age difference, but in the moment I found it no more incongruous than the fact that Takao is a straight male who aspires to become a designer of women's shoes.The plot is incredibly slow, making the 46 minutes seem far longer. This is not helped by the incredibly sparse dialogue and lack of music, which give the viewer very little to latch onto. I wondered if there might be some influence from the philosophies of Zen Buddhism, which is prevalent in Japan. The animation is the main draw, and it is simply stunning. Astonishing amounts of detail have gone into the leaves on a tree, or ripples on water, and at times it approaches that holy grail of animation, photo-realism. If you are likely to be wowed by beautiful imaging, you will easily forgive the mundanity of the story. If you like the characters, that may carry you through. If you are not keen on those things though, I don't think you can be saved from considering this a tedious snore-fest.Personally, I rather enjoyed it.